Secondary academic performance is predicted by cognitive ability more strongly than by curiosity¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2022 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i1 Secondary GPA at T3 was significantly predicted by both cognitive ability (r = 0.39) and curiosity (r = 0.20), with a larger coefficient for cognitive ability. → Mussel 2022

Evidence¶

Mussel 2022¶

Mussel, Patrick. (2022). Processes Underlying the Relation between Cognitive Ability and Curiosity with Academic Performance: A Mediation Analysis for Epistemic Behavior in a Five-Year Longitudinal Study. Journal of Intelligence 10: 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10020023

q3 · i1 · associational · r2

Bivariate correlations with self-reported, degree-corrected secondary GPA (N = 421) in the Results section. The article reports both predictors significant, "r = 0.39 vs. 0.20 for T1", and in the latent model a direct effect of cognitive ability on secondary grades of standardized β = 0.51, p < 0.001.

"Secondary academic performance obtained at T3 was significantly predicted by both cognitive ability and curiosity, with a larger correlation coefficient for the former compared to the latter (r = 0.39 vs. 0.20 for T1)."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Does a learner's general cognitive ability predict how well they achieve, and how much of achievement does it explain? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 6 narrower claims that bear on it: 6 distinct studies (6 associational), q2–q3, 2 of 6 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• General Cognitive Ability — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Interest — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Learners invest more effort in tasks they perceive as interesting, personally important, or useful to their future goals. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Cognitive ability and curiosity are positively correlated in young adults — related

• Neither cognitive ability, curiosity, nor epistemic behavior significantly predicts tertiary academic performance in the heterogeneous sample — related
• Epistemic behavior does not mediate the relation of cognitive ability or curiosity with academic performance — related
• Epistemic behavior relates to curiosity but not to cognitive ability — related
• Exploratory: leisure epistemic behavior mediates the relation of cognitive ability with tertiary academic performance, with a very small effect
• Work-avoidant orientation correlates negatively with GPA in the project-based course — related
• Multiple student survey measures negatively predicted GPA; significant negative associations were otherwise rare — related
• Domain-general cognitive skills correlate positively with vibe-coding performance, CS achievement, and writing skills — related
• Teacher-observed emotion regulation correlates with academic outcomes more strongly than performance-tested ERA does — related